Wulfenite

The first draft of the Best Minerals article on Wulfenite has been finished.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Hey Rock, any place in your article for Jason McAvoy's Blue Wulfenite photo. It's at the below location on Mindat.

[www.mindat.org]

I haven't researched blue Wulfenite, but I am pretty sure I will in the future.

Richard. I don't know. Let me think about that. The photo is pretty good, but I have seen individual crystals of that kind of material that had better form. I am about to upload a slug of wulfenite images and at that time will be upgrading the article somewhat but that will probably not be till after the Tucson show because I will be out of action for almost a month so far as any serious work on the articles or image uploading is concerned.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Thanks Rock, I appreciate you considering it. The Blue Wulfenite really fascinates me.

Please note that this blue Wulfenite does not exhibit the unique pyramidal form of blue W-bearing Wulfenite ("Chillagite" ) that is well-documented from Tsumeb (see the 1977 MinRec). It has a distorted tabular form, more close to the typical tabular form of Wulfenite (note the dimensions: its only 0.3 cm thick). In this aspect, I think it's a rather noteworthy and important crystal and should be included.

Also one of the two photos in the galleries showing the unique pyramidal habit of the blue tungstenoan Wulfenite should be included in Best Minerals. They're a beautiful oddity, and SERIOUSLY prized by collectors:
[www.mindat.org]
[www.mindat.org]

Lefteris.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/19/2010 03:42PM by Lefteris Rantos.

Diana and I are honered to have one of our specimens used in the article.
Thanks Rock!

Mike and Diana Hopkins

Rock,
I just had a look through the pictures and articles about Wulfenite. I think I can contribute a lot concerning the Wulfenites of Austria, especially from Bad Bleiberg where I am living and which actually is the type locality of Wulfenite. In the last decades of 20th century marvelous specimens of highest quality could be found. Please, have a look at the photographs in my newly opened homepage at your wonderful platform and then let me know if you are interested in me writing about the last outstanding finds of Stefanie Mine in Bleiberg, Austria.

Rudolf Hasler

Rudolph,
I took a look at the images you have recently uploaded and some of them should be in the Best Minerals Wulfenite article. We certainly do need someone to write up something about the mine, its history and information on the recent finds would all find their way into the Best Minerals article here. Just respond to this post with the text you think would be of interest and place it in your reply. I may just place the whole thing directly into the article, or I may suggest improvements or ask for additional information.

You will not be able to put the images directly into the article or add the text. I or one of the other moderators on Best Minerals will need to do that. However if you would like to become a moderator for best minerals, that is possible if you are willing to the necessary grunt work of creating two articles from scratch on the minerals of your choice (of the mienrals that have not previously been worked on) and learning how its all done. The only pay that the creators of these articles get is their name at the top of the article and the right to select the images they want to put into the article. The moderators are always glad when people like yourself step up and offer to make improvements.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Bad Bleiberg - Typelocality of Wulfenite
Bad Bleiberg a village near Villach in Carinthia is very closely connected with the mineral Wulfenite as it was named after the Austrian Jesuit mineralogist and biologist Franz Xaver von Wulfen who had published the monograph "Abhandlung vom Kärnthnerischen Bleyspate" in 1785. In this book he mainly described the specimens collected at Bleiberg. He already was fascinated by the bright colors and perfectly shaped crystals.
There has been a very long mining tradition reaching back to ancient times at Bleiberg until in 1993 the mine had to be closed because of the falling prizes for zinc and lead. Together with the inhabitants of the village many collectors were very disappointed as there had been hope that the marvelous finds of the 2 last decades could be topped. Reason for this was the circumstance that the deeper the Stefanie shaft was driven the better and larger the crystals were which the face workers brought out. The largest thin plated crystals measured incredible 10 centimeters on an edge. At the 13th level of Stefanie Mine which was 695 meters below the surface the very best specimens could be found in the years between 1982 and 1987. The good quality of the minerals especially Wulfenite encouraged the BBU (Mining Company) to let one miner just concentrate on rescuing these treasures. In this time collectors were able to buy minerals at the Mining Company's Directory. But although some enormous Wulfenite pockets were opened perfect pieces still were very rare and not easy to get. The most striking pieces were those found between 12th and 13th level in yellow to orange color with a brilliance which in Europe never had been seen before. A great find also was the man-sized pocket with the green Wulfenites in 1986.
Today the mine below the 5th level is flooded so the probably very best Wulfenites are preserved for the next generations.

Rock,
As I am not a native speaker there might be quite some mistakes in my text.Please don't hesitate to change it in any way you like. There is one suggestion I want to make: I would find it great if you put a picture about Franz Xaver von Wulfen into the article.

Rudolf

Here's a nice wulfenite from the Stevenson - Bennett mine that I purchased from Don Moore in about 1978.

Rick Kelley

Hello Rudolf!

I looked at your mindat site. Great stuff in your collection! One of my fafourite location is the Bleiberg mining area and wulfenite is one of my fafourite mineral. I think, the wulfenite-xx from the Konradi-ore deposit in Bleiberg is one of the best occurrence of this mineral in the world. Your photo with ID 452458 shows on the right side brown xx, you can't identify. Descloicite is a possibility.

Great threat all.

Martin

Rudolf,
That was a very nice description of the locality, and though I made a few minor changes it has been placed in the Best Minerals Wulfenite article with a credit to you at the end. Your English is quite good. Do you think you would qualify as an expert on Austria? Is there anyone in Austria that you know with your English capability that know Austrian mineral as well or better than you that might be willing to be listed here on Mindat as an expert and to review pictures Austrian minerals and determine if the species, locality and captions attached to them are valid?

Rock

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Richard,
Thats a good specimen from the Stevenson - Bennett mine. Unfortunately it must be entered formally into the mindat database before it can be used in the Best Minerals Wulfenite article. Would you be willing to do that? Do you know hot to do that? I have raised you level to a level 1 which will permit you to do this. Why don't you create a home page for yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself. If you would like to upload some pictures to mindat formally click on the link below and it will tell you how to do that.

[www.mindat.org]

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Danke, Rudolf!
I've added four of your very nice photos of absolutely stunning Bleiberg specimens to the article.
I never saw any of the famous 1986 specimens in real life, now that I see your photos I understand why they were so famous. Great stuff!

Grüss,

Harjo

Hello!

Some additionally points to Rudolf's article:
*Now you can visit a museum of mine in the Rudolf-shaft.
*Bleiberg is also the type locality for hydrozincite and for ilsemannite.
*Some about the genesis of the Bleiberg mining district:
Bleiberg is the biggest Pb-Zn deposit in the alpine area. The total content of metal amounts 3.5 million tons. Abandoned are 1.1 mil. t Pb, 1.1 mil. t Zn, 993 t Cd, 172 t Ge and 500 t Mo. The mining district contents some orebodies in Triassic limestones of different layer succession. The genesis of the metalcontent is not clear to 100 % (almost certainly epigenetic). During the alpidian orogenesis, the orebody was modified. The beautiful wulfenite, vanadinite,... is a secondary product of the oxidationzone.

I hope this is helpful and you understand what I mean. My English is realy not good.

Martin

Martin,
Thanks for your interesting comments. Perhaps you could clarify some things.

Bleiberg is the biggest Pb-Zn deposit in the alpine area: Could you define alpine? Sometimes alpine means in or pertaining to the Alps mountains and other time it refers to high places in mountains, usually above the tree line. What alpine area are you talking about?

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Hy Rock!

I mean the whole area of the Alps in Europe, independent of the sea level.
Note: "Carried to end 1.1 mil. t Pb,..." is a better term than "abandoned".
Interesting is that the oxidationzone reach a level of ~700 m belowe the surface (see the article of Rudolf).

Martin

Rock,

Thanks for the information. I have a home page and have placed a request to post photos.

Rick

Martin,
Thanks for the additional information about the mine. I have modified it somewhat and placed the information in the article and given you credit for it. I would appreciate it if you would read it over and make sure I did not screw anything up.

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Rock,
there is one mistake, I mean: "The original metalcontent of the deposite is estimated 3.5 mil. tons. The mine produced 1.1 mil. tons of lead, 1.1 mil. tons zinc,..., so the estimated remaining reserves are ~ 1.3 mil. tons metal."

The remaining text is perfect.

Sorry for misunderstanding me (mea culpa)
Martin